A pop band, robots and a Government Minister joined forces yesterday to open the Esat BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2003, now under way at the RDS in Dublin. The winner of the exhibition, now in its 39th year, will be announced tomorrow evening.
More than 1,000 students have prepared 477 research projects in the hope of winning the Young Scientist of the Year accolade.
With this comes a cheque for €3,000, a Waterford Crystal trophy and the chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
The Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, officially opened the annual exhibition yesterday evening. He praised the students for their success in being chosen to exhibit their research efforts, describing it as a "day of celebration for your achievements".
The students, their parents and teachers should all take pride in what had been accomplished, he said.
The pop band Six provided a mini concert for the assembled students and Macnas also performed. Also in attendance was a Flyborg autonomous flying robot and Primo, the 2-metre tall walking robot.
There are four categories in the exhibition. The chemical, physical and mathematical sciences category includes 91 projects. There are 144 projects in the biological and ecological sciences grouping.
The social and behavioural sciences category includes 180 projects and there are 62 projects entered under the technology category. The student projects cover a startling range of subjects including the serious, the quirky and the confusing.
The research also includes subjects such as why we enjoy listening to music, natural ways to get rid of disposable nappies, the effectiveness of posters in general elections, ant behaviour, chemical pollution of our rivers, bacterial contamination on public phones, on cash and on chopping boards, and the "truth" about chicken nuggets.
One project looks at the mathematics of how euro coins mix between countries and another shows how to teach physics through skateboarding. Students have analysed what makes a good hurley and how a basketball bounces.
Student inventors have developed mobile phone detectors and fire-fighting robots and a fully automatic electronically controlled, solar powered clothesline.
The exhibition opens to the public from 10 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday. Admission prices are €8 for adults, €4 for students under 18 years, children and senior citizens and €20 for family tickets which admit two adults and two children. School tour visits are €3 for each student/schoolchild with accompanying teachers entering free of charge.